The trends to shorter delivery times for finished work and reduction of laboratory operations in photographic processing of color photographic photosensitive material in recent years have required processing time to be shortened. The usual methods of shortening the times required for different processing stages are to raise the temperature and to increase the amount of replenishment, and there have also been proposed many methods of stronger agitation and methods in which various types of accelerators are added.
To increase the speed of color development and/or reduce replenishment amounts, a method is known for processing color photographic photosensitive materials containing silver chloride emulsions instead of the silver bromide emulsions or silver iodide emulsions of popular conventional use. For example, PCT WO-87-04534 discloses a method for rapid processing of high silver chloride color photographic photosensitive material with a color development solution which contains essentially no sulfite or benzyl alcohol.
However, it has been found that streaky fogging occurs when development processing is performed by this method in an automatic paper development unit. It is surmized that this is "in-solution pressure sensitization streaking" in which streaky fogging occurs because the photosensitive material is bruised and pressure sensitized when it comes into contact with rollers in the development tank of an automatic development unit.
It has also been found that in continuous processing, fluctuation in photographic characteristics (especially the minimum density) occurs and there is considerable staining of the white background.
Thus, rapid development processing using high silver chloride color photographic photosensitive materials has the major problems of pressure sensitization fogging in the solution and fluctuation in photographic characteristics, and there is therefore a strong demand for resolution of these problems.
Use of the organic antifoggants disclosed in JP-A-58-95345 and JP-A-59-232342 (the term "JP-A" as used herein means an "unexamined published Japanese patent application") is known as a means for reducing fluctuation in photographic characteristics (and especially fogging) that occurs during continuous processing by rapid processing methods using high silver chloride color photographic photosensitive materials. However, these antifoggants have insufficient fogging prevention effects and fail to prevent pressure sensitization streaks in solutions, or the increase in the minimum density as continuous processing proceeds, and it has been found that when large amounts are used there is a decrease in the maximum density.
JP-A-61-70552 discloses a method for reducing the amount of development solution replenishment in which use is made of high silver chloride color photographic photosensitive material and addition of replenishment solution is made in an amount such that there is no overflow to the development bath during development. JP-A-63-106655 teaches a method in which, in order to stabilize processing, a silver halide color photographic photosensitive material whose silver halide emulsion layers have a high silver chloride content is developed with a color development solution containing a chloride at higher than a set concentration and a hydroxylamine-based compound.
JP-A-63-106655 discloses a method of processing 70 mol % or more silver chloride photosensitive material using a development solution in which 2.times.10.sup.-2 moles or more of a chloride have been included.
With these methods, however, the above-described pressure sensitization streaks occur in processing by an automatic development unit, along with fluctuation in photographic characteristics during continuous processing, and these methods fail to resolve the problems noted above.